Cloth folder for sewing machines



Aug. 19. 1924.

R. M. SI-lARAFA CLOTH FOLDER FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed May 9'- 1918 2 Sheikh-Sheet l R. M. SHARAF CLOTH FOLDER FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed May 9, 1918 2 Sheetgs-Sheet 2 CII Patented Aug. 19, 1924.

UNI-'ren srarss RALPH' IVI. SHAR'AF, OF-NEW YORK/N. Y., ASSIGNOR T0 R. MACHINE CO., l

F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A, CORPORATION'OF MASSACHUSETTS.

CLOTH FOLDER roe snwmeiiracnmns. n

Application led May 9, 1918.` Serial No. 233,471."Ik

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, RALPH M. SHARAF, a

citizen of the United States, andI resident of the borough and county of the Bronx, city and State of New York, havevinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Cloth Folders for Sewing' Machines, of 'which the followingis a specilication.

My present invention relates to mechanism for folding the edge of a piece of cloth in a sewing machine, and is particularly adapted for use when an auxiliary material, such as a strip of lace, is to be sewed to the folded edge ofthe cloth.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated a typical example of 'my invention, as applicable to a two-needlezig-zag sewing machine provided with cutters which sever a strip from the cloth between thelines of the stitches, the opening,- or gap thus produced being bridged by the lace or auxiliary material, which is sewed to the cloth folded at the edges of said opening'. This general arrangement is disclosed more fullyA and claimed inl other applicationsy for` patents filed by me and now pending in the United StatesPatent Office, for instance, Serial No. 92,141 filed April 19, 1916.` My present application relates to an improved construction and arrangement of the cloth folder, which may be used in connection with sewing` machines of various types, and I do not wish to restrict myself to the particular species of sewing machine illustrated.v

In said drawings, Fig. l'is a side elevaticn of a presser foot carrying my improved folder, together with the movable knife and other yparts referred to hereinafter, ksaid knife being` in its lower position. Fig. 2`

shows a front view of the presser foot, with parts broken away; Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the presser foot on line 3 3 of F ig.

2, showing the movableiknife in its upper position; Fig. 4 is aninside view ,of one of the side pieces of the presser foot with a folder thereon; Figs. 5, aand 6 arepartial front views of the presser foot, with the throat-plate and certain other' parts insection, showing,` the folder adjusted to two differ-ent positions, Fig. EL showing;` the folder raised; Fig. 7 isa top view` ofthe throat plate with parts in section; Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail .top View illustrating' the operation of the cutter, of the foldenand of the stitchinginechanism; Fig. 9 is abotpart r19 tom view ofthe pressery foot one-halffof the throat-plate; Fig.` 10 is a detaily perspective view of the movable knife-and its holder;

F 11 is a .perspective view of the folder;

Fig. 12 vis a partial lbottomfvew correspondingto Fig'. 8; Fig. 13 is a perspective view of the front part of thepresser footgvFig. 14 is a diagram illustratingthe relationof the` cutting, folding,y and stitching operations. Fig. 15, is adetailed planfview of the body of the presser foot1and Fig. Ilis 'a detailed sectional view taken onf'the line 16--16 of Fig. y9.

The presser foot illustrated herein ycorna ,;l

prises arear part 19 4which ismrigidr or .inregi-al with' `the usual presserfoot bar 20,2.

front part .21', two side members 22, 22l` which form a connection between fthe'rear part 19 and the frontpart 21, to `which they i,

are secured by screws `2,3, or otherwise, and a front cover 24 secured (as screws `25) on theoutside ofthe front/part 2l. ,The front edgeof the rear part 19 is'spacedfrin the rear edgeyof the front part 211, forming, between ythe side members or plates y22, 22', a transverse slot26 preferably provided wat its ends with vertically extending/transversely elongated openings 26 `forming 'a part of the yneedle' holes`19f. through vwhich the needles 27 reciprocate up and down, and as this particulargfoot is intended for a zigzag sewing machine,v 4-'it 7will be 'understood that the needles have "aplateral' motion inaddition to their reciprocating,movementj that i is, at one 'stitch the needle willfro down near n'eXt stitch, near the'outer end ofy thisfenlthe innerfend of the opening 2,6 and;y atthe y ings 26 may be formed'partly Ain thefre'ar Y and partly mth'e side member'sj22, 22. Any well-,knownoi' approved mechaf nism may be employed ,for impartingy the de,-

sired motionlto theneedles' 27.y

The upper surface'of the front"part 21i`s curved to form` ak supportand guide for an auxiliary material, such as lace 28, the edges ofwhichare guidedby thefsideplates 22, 22', andV which 'passes' downwardly through the slot 26,'in substantially'themanner set forth in my above mentioned application.

'Any suitableineansfsuch as tlielajcefeeder vdisclosed 1n said application, may'f be employed forcarryinfr the lace rearwardlyand downwardlysover the upper face of the: front part 21 and through 'the' slot 26."A`t 29T los i Lof feed indicated by the arrows.

have indicated a vertically reciprocating bar which. operates the lace feeder (not shown) to feed the lace at each downward movement of said bar 29.

, The bar `29 is shown as provided with arms or brackets 30extending downwardly and forwardly andr arranged exteriorlyv of the side members 22, 22, so as to clear them as the said brackets move up and down with the bar l29. These brackets are provided with horizontal aligning pins 31 extendingy inwardlyv or toward `each other, and guided in vertical slots 32 extending through the slots 32 extending through the outer walls of said recesses. The front'cover 24 forms a front wall for the two recesses 37, and also forms an inclined guide for the front edges 4.of the knife-carriers 34, the rear edges of which are guided along the rear walls 37 of the corresponding recesses 37, which rear walls are inclined as shown and parallel to the guide surfaces of the front cover 24. This inclination isl lengthwise of the line The upper knife 35, reciprocating along 'and below the presser foot in the inclined path described, cooperates with a stationary v,knife 38 which is secured to the throat plate 39. This knife is located on the inside of the movable knife, and ispreferably'pressed outwardly, that is to say, toward the path of the movable knife, by a kspring 40', tending to swing the knife 38 about the vertical pivot 41 which connects it with the throaty plate.V Then the movfable knife is in its upper position, and

therefore out. of engagement with the stationaryknife 38, the latter is held (by the spring 40) in contact with an adjustable stop, say 4a screw 42 carried by the throat plate,'so that the .normal position of they knife 38 may be varied as desired.

The throat plate 39 (which, as shown, may be made in two separate halves or sections) has transversely-elongated needle-openings or guides 43 corresponding in position to the openings 26 of the presser foot slot 26, that is to say, each guide opening 43 is substantially in vertical alignment with one of the openings 26. The throat plate also has openings 44 in which the feed dogs (not shown) move lengthwise of the line of feed, l being operated by any suitable mechanism.

Between the longitudinal vertical planesl in which the movable knives 35 reciprocate, and the longitudinal verticalplanes parallel thereto in which the needles move when in their inner positions, I arrange Amy improved folders 45, which are shown as secured to the presser foot, within recesses 46 on the inner faces of the side plates 22, 22. The folders are'made of elastic material (st-eel), their upper ends being secured to the respectiveside plates in a substantially rigid manner, and their lower portions being bent first inwardly and horizontally, at 45, substantially `level with the bottom surface of the presser foot, and then vertically downward below said bottom surface, as at 45, the portions 45', 45r forming the cloth-engaging vor active vportion ofV the folder. The elasticity of the folders 45 tends to lthrow them apart, or outwardly against adjustable stops, such as screws 47, which govern variably the normal position of the folders.

As will be evident from Figures 1, 3, 7, 8, 9 and 14, the rear ends of the folders 45 are arranged very close to the path'of the needles, and slightly forward of said path,

with the rear eXtreinit-ies'of the outer sur-- faces ofthe depending folder ends r45 in the longitudinal line intersecting the vertical line in which the needles descend when in the inner position (Fig. 8), or these eX- tremities of said surfaces may be located slightly to one side of said line. The knives 35, 38 begin to cut at the point a (Figs. 3 andv 14) which is forward of the point Aof act-ion of the folders, and as the movable knives descend, the cut extends forwardly to the point b. The front part 21 of the presser foot is recessed as at 21 to receive the lower ends of the foldersfPreferably, the recesses 21 extend upwardly a suflicient distance to enable each folder to be lifted to an inactive position (see Fig. 5a). The upper end of the folder vshank may be formed as a handle 48 projecting from the presser Vfoot to enable the folder to be shifted manually .to the activey orthe inactive position. Bends 48', 48, cooperating with sockets 46, 46, may be used to hold the folder against accidental movement in Aeither its upper or its lower position.v

The operation is as follows: The clothor piece of goods'49 is fed intermittently in the direction indicated by the arrows; at the time of this feed movement, the lace feed bar 29 and the movable knives 35 are in their upper position, Fig. 3. rllhe cloth 49 having temporarily come to rest, the bar 29 and knives 35 descend while the cloth 49 is stationary, and the diagonally-moving upper knives 35, in conjunction with the stationary lower knives 38, produce two parallel longitudinal shearing cuts in the cloth, beginningat the points upper surface of the presser foot section 2l through the slot 26, to be applied on top of the cloth 49. The piece or strip 49 between the two parallel cuts is severed completely 'from the cloth and drops off as the finished article is taken from the machine. This cloth-cuttingand'lace-feeding action (with the cloth stationary), is followed immediately by a. stitching movement of the needles, and then by another rearward feed of the cloth 49, during'which the movable knives remain in the upper position (F ig. rThis feed movement of the cloth carries the cut or slit por-tions of thecloth against the folders, which projectr into said slits, and the inner edges 49" ofthe main or outer portions of the cloth are given a right-angle or quartereturn downwardly by engagement with the outer surfaces of the depending folder ends 45 and with the rearwardly-oblique edges of throat plate openings 39, as shown in Figs. 5, 6, 8 and l2. Figs. 7 and l2y show that these oblique edges ofthe openings 39 are sub-- stantially parallel to the outer surfaces of the folder ends 45. The cycle of operations is then repeated. 'K

The intermittent feed of the cloth 49 will carry the downwardly folded edges 49 gradually to theL stitching point. In their inner positions the needle 27 will go down vslightly on the inside of the vsightangle folds at the edges 49, so that they inner rows of stitches will clear said folds and pass only through the lace' 28. The next stitch of the needle 27 will occur when this needle is in the outer position (farthest to the yleft in Figs. 8 `and 14), and the outer rowof stitches will pass only through the main portion of the cloth 49. As theneedle 27 ascends in its'outer position, it will 'draw upwardly the portion of the'thread 50 which forms a loop around the folded edge 49"" and by tightening said loop will pull said edge upwardly fromr the throat plate and against the bottom surface of the main portion of the cloth, so that this edge will' now be horizontal, or fiat against the under surface of the cloth, as shown in Figs. 8 and l2. The outer row of stitches will be clear (that is to say, exteriorly) ofthe eX- f `the bend of the finished fold; the line D,

the free or cut edge of the finished fold;

In the diagram` and lthe lineE, `the longitudinal line in vwhich lie the outer positions of the needley 27. TheA cut made by the knives at one operative stroke begins at cr and ends at b;

the folder begins' toy engage the cut fabric at c andrem'ains in engagen'ient therewith to d; yand stitching takesplace in the trans-y verse plane indicated by the line e.:

The lateral adjustment ofthe stationary knives 38 is,y for the purpose of bringing them "into proper covoperative rela-tiony to the movable knives 35, aarticularly as different knives'may be used for differentl kinds of goods. Thefsprings 40 enablethe stationary knives to 'yield slightly in a lateral direction, and keep kthern in, or return themto, their normal position.

, The lateral'adjustment of the folders 45 enables their active portions, and,particular-` ly their depending ends ,.,to be brought closer toer-farther away from the knives, it being understood. that the spaces between the outer walls of thethroat plate openings 39 and the paths ofthe movable knives 35 `are sufficiently widey to permit of such adjustment. The openings 39 are those which receive the active portionsr of the knives 35, 38 and the depending ends 45 -offthe folders.` When the cloth 49 relatively thin, asindieated in Fig. 5, the folders are adjusted outward-ly to bring them near to the outer walls of the openings 39', it being understood that the width of the space between said outer VKwall and the folder end 45 is approximately equal to the thickness of the cloth. Thus, if the cloth is relatively thick, las iny Fig. 6, the folders will be adjusted farther inward. The elastic char# acter of the` folders 45 `enables them to yield inwardly to accommodate any uneven places in the cloth'49. The'lateral adjustment of the folder may bring its rear end slightly out 4of rthe longitudinal plane indicated at D in Fig. 14, but without interfering with the proper operation, which is that the needle 27 in its inner' position should not of the lace 2S. This edge may be in they longitudinal plane D, or in any other longitudinalplane between Cy and E.Y

While I have shown my invention as applied to a two-needle sewing machine,

with a folder, and apair of knives to co'- operate with each of the needles, it will be o obvious that many features of this invention may be utilized in connection with the machines having a single needle; thus, either the left-hand or the right-hand half of the mechanism illustrated, if used alone, would benfully operative to cut goods', fold the goods on one side ofthe cut, and ysew a piece of lace or the like to the folded and doubled portion. For this reason,.in those claims which refer to only one needle, the terms inside and outside, inner and outer,7 l inward and outward, and

the like, are used for the sake of convenience to distinguish one side from the other, but are not to 'be interpreted in a restrictive sense. In'so far as the present application has features in common with my earlier application above referred to, as regards the arrangement of the folder, relatively to the cutting mechanism, such common features will be claimed in said earlier application. The present application also discloses certain novel features, invented by me but not claimed herein, in the construction and operation of the knives, and of the corresponding parts of the presser foot and of the throatplate, irrespective of their relation to the folder mechanism.

Certain claims of the present application which do not include cutting mechanism, will also fit the folder structure disclosed in my said earlier application, and to this eX- tent my present application is a continuation of said earlier case.

l have described and illustrated a satisfactory and preferred embodiment of my invention, but it is obvious that changes may be made therein within the spirit and yscope thereof as defined in the appended claims.

I claim l. ln a two-needle Zig-Zag sewing machine a presser foot having'laterally elongated openings through which the needles are adapted to reciprocate, first at one end of such openings and then at the other, and provided with folders located close to said openings at the forward side thereof, said folders having operating: ends which project downwardly from the presser foot andhave outer faces oblique relatively to the line of feed, the oblique faces of the two folders converging forwardly, and theV rear ends of said surfaces being substantially 1n ylon 1,1tud1nal alignment with the inner positions of the respective needles, and cutting devices located forwardly of said folders, and having ltheir ylines of action between the lines of action of the folders. v

2. In` a zig-Zag sewing machine, a presser foot through which the needle is adapted to reciprocate first in an inner and then in an outer position, and provided with a folder located entirely forwardly of the transverse plane in which the needle operates, and closely adjacent to said plane, said folder having a straight operating end Awhich' projects downwardly in a curved relation from the presser foot and has an outer material engaging surface oblique lrelatively to the line of feed and adapted to fold the material from a flat horizontal position to a downwardly folded position, the Obliquity of said surface being outward from front to rear, and the rear end of said surface being substantially in longitudinal alignment with the inner position of the needle, and a cutting device located forwardly of said folder, and having its line an oblique edge, and a folder located 'above said openingand having an oblique portion depending into said opening adjacent to said edge and disposed entirely forwardly of the stitching point.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signed my name.

' RALPH M. SHARAF. 

